The Trump administration issued a new rule on Wednesday stating that religious workers in the country on R-1 visas would no longer be required to reside outside of the U.S. for a full year after the expiration of their visa. Until recently, priests and religious could enter the U.S. with R-1 visas and then apply for permanent resident status–and obtain their green card–before their five-year R-1 expired. However, changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act in 2023 created a massive backlog of green card applications for the category that included religious workers, causing dioceses to fear losing their foreign priests and religious for a full year. While religious workers will still be required to leave the country after their R-1 expires, there will be no minimum timeframe they must be present outside the U.S. before seeking an R-1 renewal.
“We are tremendously grateful for the administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve. The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated,” United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) President Archbishop Paul Coakley and Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a statement.
The rule is set to be published Jan. 16 in the Federal Register. An interim final version of the rule is available here on the DHS website.